Berlin-based fintech, Raisin, has taken over Frankfurt’s MHB Bank in a bid to expand its areas of operation as well as its value chain. This aims to combine the banking regulatory techniques with the expertise of a customer-centric fintech.

According to the fintech, the new acquisition will bolster the growth of the Fintech in the European Economic Area with Raisin be able to streamline the onboarding process for deposit banks as well as distribution partners like o2 Banking of Telefónica Germany and N26.

Raisin CEO and co-founder Dr. Tamaz Georgadze explains: “As one of the leading fintechs in Europe, we believe in making sustainable changes to the financial system in order to make the needs of customers and partners paramount. Together with MHB, we can continue to develop — and seamlessly integrate — the services we offer customers, partner banks and distribution partners.”

MHB Bank Chairman Reiner Guthier clarifies what the takeover will mean for MHB: “We know the business models and challenges of both sides, fintech and bank. Through this more extensive collaboration with Raisin we will be able to add to our technical expertise along with making important investments in our team. These changes enable MHB even better to support the digital business models of our current partners as well as new ones. This move thus allows us to take the strengths of our current position in credit fronting and expand them further into payments and ‘banking as a service’.”

The acquisition of the shares in MHB by Raisin is still subject to final approval by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and the European Central Bank (ECB).

As a fully licensed fronting and service bank, MHB, established in 1973, supports clients with business models that require a banking license, including fintechs (like Raisin, CreditShelf and Exporo), private wealth management firms and trusts among others, in the areas of credit, deposits, accounts and payments.

Established in 2012, the Berlin-based Rasin is an open banking platform with partnerships with 62 banks. With Raisin, customers can choose savings and investment products from banks across the continent, and banks can easily attract deposits from customers abroad. It has brokered more than $11 billion in deposits to its 62 partner banks and earned savers $90 million in earned interest.